Epic Games has announced sweeping layoffs, putting 1,000 of its developers out of work as the company responds to slower growth and other challenges in the industry.
Epic Games, the publisher behind Fortnite, which includes LEGO Fortnite, has laid off 1,000 employees — a staggering 20% of its total workforce.
The LEGO Group partnered with Epic Games back in 2022, and at the same time the LEGO Group’s parent company, KIRKBI, invested $1 billion into Epic Games. The partnership eventually spawned LEGO Fortnite in December 2023. The game-within-a-game has received steady updates since, and a physical LEGO Fortnite theme has since launched as well.
That’s to say the layoffs could affect LEGO Fortnite, as a loss of 20% of the total workforce is no small matter.
And while the possible challenges for LEGO Fortnite going forward are certainly a concern for fans of the game, it’s important to remember the other side of the layoffs — 1,000 people are now out of work due to what Epic cites as slower growth, weaker spending and tougher cost economics.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney described the situation in a memo to employees as such: “This isn’t our first time being here. Epic survived upheavals in the 1990s with the more from 2D to 3D with Unreal 1; in the 2000s building console games with Gears of War; and in 2012 moving to online gaming with Paragon and Fortnite. Market conditions today are the most extreme we’ve seen since those early days, with massive upheaval in the industry accompanied by massive opportunity for the companies that come out as winners on the other side.”
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Safe to assume the 1,000 people now out of work won’t be feeling like winners if Epic manages to survive its current conditions. Nor will the 830 people put out of work by 2023 layoffs.
Per The Guardian, Fortnite alone rakes in $4 billion a year in revenue and Epic Games as whole had $6 billion in estimated revenue for 2025. And apparently that’s not enough, according to the CEO with the $5 billion net worth.
“The downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 means we’re spending significantly more than we’re making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the company funded,” the memo continued. “This layoff, together with over $500 million of identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and closing some open roles puts us in a more stable place.”
What exactly is going on behind the scenes at Epic Games is as yet unknown, but the layoffs are yet another chapter in the gaming industry’s shaky modern history, leaving the futures of games and people working in the industry alike up in the air.
“What we now need to do is clear,” Tim’s memo concluded. “Build awesome Fortnite experiences with fresh seasonal content, gameplay, story and live events. And we’ll be kicking off the next generation of Epic with huge launch plans towards the end of the year.”
Let’s hope the huge launch plans aren’t derailed by the significantly smaller workforce…
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